Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Dissertation
Clemens, Debra Jane. "Homeschool Parents' Perspective on Virtual Public Schools." Ph.D., Gonzaga University, 2002.
Referenced on: http://www.indiana.edu/~homeeduc/topic_demographics.html
Referenced on: http://www.indiana.edu/~homeeduc/topic_demographics.html
Paper: Home School Parents’ Dilemma in front of the Internet
http://www.editlib.org/?fuseaction=Reader.NoAccess&paper_id=22485
Sun, S. & Wang, C. (2006). Home School Parents’ Dilemma in front of the Internet. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2006 (pp. 2685-2689). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Conference Information
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference (SITE) 2006
Orlando, Florida, USA March 19, 2006
Caroline Crawford, Dee Anna Willis, Roger Carlsen, Ian Gibson, Karen McFerrin, Jerry Price & Roberta Weber
AACE
More Information on SITE Table of Contents
Authors
Abstract
Abstract: This study examines the dilemmas facing thousands of home schooling parents: “To use or not to use” the Internet. Parents choose home schooling primarily to protect their children from the bad and unsafe learning environment. Yet the Internet, both as a learning means and learning resources, is a widely open environment with all the potential harms that home school parents worry about. This paper describes the study background and rationale, and offers research questions in examining influential factors behind their dilemmas. It shares with its audience the implications for home school parents in supervising their children and instructional design for virtual schools for homeWednesday, March 18, 2009
Ramblings, Questions, and Thoughts
Digital learning, online learning, distance learning, virtual schools - k-12 education - the connection with homeshooling
1.5 million families in the US homeschooled their children in 2007
my initial question - can the offering of virtual school leaning medium draw more homeschoolers into the public school realm.
The answer looks like yes and no - some will and some won't based on the reason they have decided to homeschool - whether it's because they want to school their children at home or more because they disagree with public school approaches, possibly because they don't like the curriculum, they don't want their children to have to take the WASL, they don't like the public school environment, or they want a more religious environment.
A more recent question - how often do educators guide students into virtual schools because the student has become a problem in the physical school? A high rate of referral for behavioral and academic problems might translate into high rate of at-risk kids in virtual schools.
Basic research question - what proportion of kids in virtual schools stay in school, drop out, do well?
Possible topic - "Some states are considering creating a common definition of “completion rate” or “retention rate,” which would be particularly useful for funding purposes, but currently the majority of providers self-define their completion rates."97 (p. 9, http://leg.wa.gov/documents/Senate/SCS/edu/WAOnlineLearningPoliciesAndPrograms.pdf)
Possible topic (from Senate brief) - "Currently, Washington State has relatively few laws regulating online learning, leaving much deference to local school districts. The Legislature may want to consider whether providing opportunities for online learning should be left in the hands of individual districts or whether the State ought to take a more involved approach appointing funding for online courses, digital resources, student lap tops, and the like."
1.5 million families in the US homeschooled their children in 2007
my initial question - can the offering of virtual school leaning medium draw more homeschoolers into the public school realm.
The answer looks like yes and no - some will and some won't based on the reason they have decided to homeschool - whether it's because they want to school their children at home or more because they disagree with public school approaches, possibly because they don't like the curriculum, they don't want their children to have to take the WASL, they don't like the public school environment, or they want a more religious environment.
A more recent question - how often do educators guide students into virtual schools because the student has become a problem in the physical school? A high rate of referral for behavioral and academic problems might translate into high rate of at-risk kids in virtual schools.
Basic research question - what proportion of kids in virtual schools stay in school, drop out, do well?
Possible topic - "Some states are considering creating a common definition of “completion rate” or “retention rate,” which would be particularly useful for funding purposes, but currently the majority of providers self-define their completion rates."97 (p. 9, http://leg.wa.gov/documents/Senate/SCS/edu/WAOnlineLearningPoliciesAndPrograms.pdf)
Possible topic (from Senate brief) - "Currently, Washington State has relatively few laws regulating online learning, leaving much deference to local school districts. The Legislature may want to consider whether providing opportunities for online learning should be left in the hands of individual districts or whether the State ought to take a more involved approach appointing funding for online courses, digital resources, student lap tops, and the like."
- district, virtual school, and parent/student accountability to tax payers for the online courses they subscribe to, offer, or take
- promotion of more opportunities for online learning through increased state involvement
Sunday, March 15, 2009
VirtSchools/HomeSchools & Pub Schools
Public School Virtual/Online Programs Target Homeschoolers
From Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO)
http://www.washhomeschool.org/advocacy/whopublicschoolvirtualonline.html
New Articles:
From Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO)
http://www.washhomeschool.org/advocacy/whopublicschoolvirtualonline.html
New Articles:
- Cyberschools hang in balance - http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_616251.html
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Concerns to Explore
These are some of the concerns I hear expressed and that will need some response.
- Students of Virtual Schools don't perform as well on state standardized tests (see Georgia article)
- Students of Virtual Schools don't get enough socialization (See Georgia Article)
- Virtual Schools take money and resources away from traditional brick and mortar schools
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